Warriors: Stripes
by Petalwish
Summary: Stripekit is what you would consider an outcast. Born into a Clan where every cat has a pelt of a solid color, the PondClan kit is desperate to find a cat that shares his pain. Pumakit is what you would consider better off; loved by her mother and father, yet not by her Clan. When these two cats meet, they will go on a journey that not even StarClan could foresee. Rated T.
1. Allegiances

**Warriors: Stripes Allegiances**

**PondClan:**

**_Leader:_** Palestar - pale brown she-cat, yellow eyes

**_Deputy:_** Sharpeye - dark cream tom, green eyes

**_Medicine Cat:_** Graylily - dark gray she-cat, blue eyes

_**Warriors:**_

Darkwillow - black she-cat, brown eyes

Shiningdusk - dark ginger she-cat, yellow eyes

Shyheart - small pale gray she-cat with yellow eyes

Stormwater - dark gray tom with white paws, pale green eyes

Crowsight - black tom with dash on chest, amber eyes  
Apprentice- Shadepaw (black she-cat)

Firewing - ginger she-cat, blue eyes

Blazeclaw - dark ginger tom with a black tail-tip, green eyes

Snowdust - white she-cat, blue eyes Apprentice- Ravenpaw (dark gray she-cat with white paws)

Darkflower - dark brown she-cat, pale green eyes

_**Queens:**_

Snaketail - lithe brown she cat, green eyes  
[mother to Sharpeye's kits: Snailkit- large gray she-cat, Stormkit- dark gray tom]

Quietleap- small gray she cat, light blue eyes  
[mother to Stormwater's kits: Shadowkit- black tom, Stripekit- pale brown tabby tom with dark brown stripes, Quailkit- small gray she-cat]

_**Elders:**_

Amberheart- young golden she-cat, amber eyes

Petalfrost- cream colored she-cat, blue eyes

Bramblethorn- brown tom, amber eyes

**MarshClan:**

Leader: Wavestar- blue she cat with pale amber eyes

Deputy: Shellpelt- white tom with dark blue eyes

Medicine Cat: Hollyfeather- black she cat with blue eyes

[Apprentice: Shallowwater- light gray tom with yellow eyes]

Warriors:

Frogleap- small red tom with bright green eyes

Stumptail- brown tom with a short tail

Scareye- pale gray she cat with a scar over one amber eye

Petalpelt- white she cat with green eyes

Stoneheart- gray she cat with icy blue eyes

Reedrush- dark brown tom

Blackwater- black she-cat

Queens:

Freezewind- white she-cat  
[mother to Frogleap's kits: Shimmerkit- pure black she-cat, Grasskit- pale gray tom, Adderkit- ginger tom, and Pumakit- dark brown and black patched she-cat]

Sharpwater- brown she-cat  
[mother to Shellpelt's kits: Fishkit- long-furred gray she-cat, Tansykit- golden she-cat, and Finchkit- dark brown tom]

Elders:

Darkstream- dark brown she-cat

Hollowfish- dark gray tom

Streamwater- blue-gray she-cat

* * *

_**Here we are, my wonderful readers! The Allegiances of Warriors: Stripes! :D I'm so excited for this installment of the Black and White series!**_

_**The first chapter should be up within the next few hours, if not days. Though if I disappear for a while, don't panic XD. It's probably because I'm busy. **_

_**Please review, even though these are only Allegiances! **_

_**Ooh, BONUS! **_

_**Anyone of my reviews want to make rogues? Or even cats that aid Snowpaw and Swiftwind in guiding our two main characters into HailClan? Leave a review describing your cat like this:**_

_**Name:**_

_**Pelt:**_

_**Rogue/StarClan: **_

_**Clan they are specified to guide cats to:**_

_**~Ben :D**_


	2. Prologue

Prologue:

"There's a time and place for everything, my Followers. And now is that time, yet it is not the place."

The white she-cat stared out amongst the star-flecked pelts of her team. A black and white tom, his eyes shimmering like the stars embedded on his fur stood next to her, his chin held high.

"We must gather them," said the black tom, adding to the she-cat's statement she had not gotten to finish. "Before it is too late."

"How can it be too late, Swiftspirit?" called a cat at the back of the group. She was a black cat, with large golden eyes and golden paws.

A white she-cat that sat beside her nodded in agreement. "How will we know when it's too late?"

"Will we get a sign?" asked a pair of dark gray tom-kits. Their dark green eyes were wide, and their parents each curled their tails around them, as if to protect them from the unspoken threats made against them.

"There has to be a way!" cried a dark brown she-cat, along with a silver gray she-cat and a white she-cat with gray stripes.

"Quiet!" called the white she-cat, staring down at the frantic assembly of cats. "Opalspirit, Icespirit, all of you!"

"Snowspirit, if we may speak..."

All turned towards two she-cats; one black, one pale gray. It had been the pure black she-cat with a white crescent moon embedded on her head that had spoken up. The silver tabby, however, had remained silent.

Snowspirit nodded, her eyes flashing. "Moonspirit, Jewelmist... What is it you have to say?"

Jewelmist, the silver tabby, stepped up. "We wish to guide these two cats, whoever they may be."

"That's not your duty," Swiftspirit growled harshly.

"Whoever said we had a duty?" Moonspirit retorted with a flick of her tail.

Swiftspirit opened his jaws to reply, but Snowspirit rested her tail on his shoulders and he paused. She looked at Moonspirit and Jewelmist, her eyes narrowed yet wise. "I grant you permission, Moonspirit and Jewelmist. You two, along with Wolfspirit, Icespirit, and Lilacspirit shall go into these Clans and guide the cats to our homes. Lilacspirit and Icespirit shall go to MarshClan, while you and Jewelmist shall go to PondClan. Wolfspirit shall watch you from the shadows, making sure you are doing what you are supposed to be doing as a Messenger of The Sacred Grounds."

"Go now," Swiftspirit ordered. "Before the sun rises upon the two Clans. You must hurry."

"The wishes and guidance of our ancestors go with you five," Snowspirit meowed calmly. "As well as the wisdom and cleverness of the Grounds."

"Thank you, Snowspirit..." All five cats meowed before disappearing in a blast of starlight.

Swiftspirit stayed behind with his mate as the rest of the Followers began to dissipate into thin air. "I don't trust any of them," he stated simply.

Snowspirit gazed at him quizzically. "Would it be wrong to ask why?"

Swiftspirit shook his head. "No, it wouldn't."

"Well, then why? Why do you not trust them?"

"How can we be sure they'll bring the right cats to HailClan?"

Snowspirit leaned against the black and white tom, sighing and looking up at the sky that glimmered above them in a star-littered trail. "We just hope, my love... We just have to hope."


	3. Chapter One: Stripekit

**Chapter One -**

_He was completely and utterly _bored.

Stripekit, much to no avail, batted at the moss ball with his small paws. He crouched, wriggled his haunches a bit to get the right angle and then pushed off, aiming for the moss ball that lay only a few tail lengths in front of him. A mewl of victory sounded from his lips, though the cry of joy faltered as he realized that he had missed the moss ball by a complete tail length. _Mouse-dung! _He thought inwardly, growling at the ball and shoving it away from him with a kick of his hind paw.

"Stripekit! What are you doing out here?"

The light brown tabby turned towards the high-pitched mewl of his sister, Quailkit. With her dull light gray pelt and shimmering blue eyes, she looked almost exactly like their mother, Quietleap. Stripekit and his brother, Shadowkit, looked nothing like them; Stripekit had light brown fur with darker tabby stripes, while Shadowkit was pure black, hence his namesake. Quailkit was the intelligent one, while Shadowkit was the one who kept them all in line, even his mother and father at times.

But him? He was just boring old Stripekit. Nothing special about him whatsoever.

"I'm busy, Quailkit!" Stripekit shouted back, only to have Quailkit huff in annoyance at him.

"I'm right here, frog-brain!" His sister waved a gray paw in front of his face, trying to reach him through the fog his mind was in at the moment. "You don't need to shout at me!"

"Sorry," Stripekit murmured, twitching his whiskers. "I didn't notice you were right there..."

Quailkit rolled her eyes and nudged her brother playfully. "You _never _notice when any cat is around. Me, Mama, Daddy, Shadowkit... Even a warrior, or even Palestar! You're so daft sometimes, Stripekit!"

"More like all the time," came the snort of amusement from Shadowkit. The black tom-kit padded out of the nursery's entrance, his pelt ruffled and unkept, his amber eyes dull. He sat down and raised one of his paws, licking it throughly before drawing it over his muzzle.

Stripekit padded over to his brother, Quailkit just behind him. "You missed a spot there," Stripekit murmured, stepping forward to lick a tuft of fur on Shadowkit's muzzle, just above his nose. He stepped back, admiring his siblings sleek and always well-groomed pelts.

"Thanks, Stripekit..." Shadowkit purred, blinking warmly at the smaller tom-kit.

The three kits' ears pricked up at the sound of bushes rustling and cat yowls being heard through the leaves. A black cat burst through them, his pelt fluffed out twice its size and his eyes wide.

Pale brown fur came into Stripekit's vision as Palestar padded forward to stand before the black tom. "Crowsight, what is the meaning of all the yowling the Clan heard back there?"

Stripekit sniffed the air, sighing in relief when he found Crowsight's scent amongst the other cats of his Clan. _Crowsight's on our side... He's not a threat, thank StarClan. _

It took Crowsight a moment to catch his breath. "MarshClan! MarshClan cats on our border!"

The Clan's once worried glances at one another turned to those of rage. Growls, hisses, and yowling threats rose from their throats, their fur bushed up along their spines and their eyes narrowed.

"What's happening?" asked Quailkit, and Stripekit looked over his shoulder at his sister, who was cowering against Shadowkit and their mother, Quietleap. Stripekit hadn't even noticed that the pale gray gray queen had come out of the nursery.

"I don't know," Quietleap answered honestly, blinking at Stripekit before settling her gaze on Quailkit and licking her between the ears to calm her. "But I'm sure whatever it is, Palestar will take care of it. She's a noble leader, and every warrior -even when they're still curled up at their mother's belly- knows not to get on her bad side."

"Why?" Shadowkit wondered aloud. "What has she done to warriors who do bad things?"

Quietleap wrapped her tail around her black tom-kit. "Let's just say that Palestar doesn't take things lightly."

Stripekit turned his attention away from his mother and siblings to look at a new cat that stood beside Crowsight. The cats light gray pelt shone like a silver star in the sunlight that streamed through the camp, and its eyes were a golden shade of yellow, almost like honey.

"Shallowwater," Palestar said calmly, nodding her head to the cat. "What brings you here?"

The light gray tom's eyes flashed before he replied in a mild tone, "I must speak to your medicine cat."

Palestar's pelt bushed up, and Stripekit was hopeful that the PondClan leader would claw the MarshClan tom. "Why?" Palestar asked, her tail slowly waving in the air.

Shallowwater's voice was rough and timid. "It's an important matter that I feel must be shared with her, not you."

Cats began to throw hisses and snarls his way, but Palestar held up her tail and the commotion stopped. Stripekit's little claws slid out of their places between his pads as Palestar granted him access. Shallowwater murmured his thanks before racing towards Graylily's den.

"Why should he get to enter her den?" Stripekit muttered under his breath. "He was rude to Palestar, he should've been chased out of camp!"

Quietleap'a purr startled the light brown kit; she must've heard him. "Palestar's doing what's best," she murmured, watching where Quailkit and Shadowkit were across the clearing talking to their father, Stormwater. "Plus, Shallowwater is MarshClan's medicine cat, so no matter what he was granted access, even if the Clan and Palestar herself disagreed."

"That's dumb!" Stripekit mewed indignantly. "We shouldn't allow other cats from other Clans into ours! What if he's a spy?"

"Oh, Stripekit," Quietleap's eyes shone with love and pride in her kit's outspokenness. "It's not dumb, it's just reality." The pale gray queen parted her jaws in a yawn, and then looked back down at Stripekit. "Why don't you go and play with your brother and sister? Or even Snailkit and Stormkit?"

"All of them are boring," Stripekit muttered. "All they want to do is play catch the mouse and Clan leader..."

"Perhaps if you would actually play the games, it wouldn't be as bad." Quietleap meowed before padding into the nursery, ready for a nap.

Stripekit watched her go for a mere heartbeat before sneaking his way towards the medicine den through the bushes and undergrowth that surrounded PondClan's camp. He stopped at the back of the nursery and pressed his head to the wall, arching his ears to the highest they could go, trying to listen for any voices.

At last, he heard some:

"Are you certain?"

"I'm positive, Graylily. MarshClan has one too. It's not very common, though there's always one within a few generations down the road that has it."

"So both cats, from two different Clans, are different? I thought it only happened within one Clan, not two!"

"So did I, honestly. But the kit in my Clan is very smart and quick on her paws. She would be an excellent warrior if it wasn't for her pelt."

"The kit in PondClan is very agile and wise for its age. In all my seasons as a medicine cat, I have never seen a kit such as this one. It's a mystery to me..."

"We mustn't tell them. I suggest we wait for time to take it's course, and then, if they haven't been exiled yet, allow them to know."

Stripekit cocked his head to the side. He blinked a few times, confusing thoughts running through his head before he turned his attention back to the wall.

"Who's the kit in your Clan, Shallowwater? If I may ask."

"Pumakit, born to Freezewind and Frogleap of MarshClan. Yours?"

The words that echoed off the walls about stopped Stripekit's heart altogether:

"Stripekit, born to Quietleap and Stormwater of PondClan."


	4. Chapter Two: Pumakit

**Chapter Two -**

_"Are you even listening to me, Pumakit?"_

The dark brown and black patched kit forced herself to look into her leader's pale amber eyes. Her blue-gray pelt was fluffed up slightly, and her tail was lashing against the ground of her den so harshly Pumakit could hear the sand beneath it swishing back and forth with the movements. She flattened her ears against her head and muttered, "Sorry, Wavestar."

"Sorry doesn't cut it," Wavestar's voice was harsh. "Why can't you be more like your siblings?"

"I'm their younger sister, not their clone!" Pumakit flashed back, flexing her claws on the soft sand.

Wavestar's eyes burned even more as she went on, ignoring Pumakit's outburst, "Don't you know better than to play inside the medicine den? Especially -"

"It was Tansykit's idea!"

"It doesn't matter whose idea it was," Wavestar snapped, her voice rising from it's usual softness to a slight growl. "What matters is that you completely ruined Hollyfeather and Shallowwater's herb store! I would expect better behavior from a kit such as yourself, but clearly I was wrong..."

"But I didn't do anything! It was all Tansykit! I just went with her!"

Wavestar closed her eyes and blew air from her muzzle, clearly aggravated. "You've got some nerve, kit, talking back to your leader... MarshClan is not made for this type of behavior, Pumakit - MarshClan is strong, prideful, and full of respect for their elders. If you don't know how to do any of that, then I'm not sure you're ready to be an apprentice..."

Pumakit's voice rose to a wail. "But I'm almost six moons!"

"I realize that," Wavestar paused before continuing, "Which is why I cannot delay your ceremony like I can Tansykit's."

Pumakit's heart lifted.

"I can, however, give you a punishment."

Her heart fell down to her paws.

Wavestar chuckled lowly at the crestfallen look on Pumakit's face. "You will be assigned - by yourself - to clean out the elder's den. First and foremost, you will go and personally - I repeat, personally - apologize to both of our medicine cats, then ask for some bedding to use for the elder's."

"The elders den?" Pumakit was shocked at her leader's order. "But that's yucky! I don't want to clean out _their_ nests!"

"Unless," Wavestar dismissed her comment with a blink of her pale amber eyes, "You would rather clean out _all_ the dens by yourself? I can arrange that as well, if you wish."

Pumakit wrinkled her nose, stuck out her tongue and made a 'bleh' sound. Cleaning out all the dens, by herself? Without help from any cat? The thought made Pumakit wince in repugnance. "I'll clean out the elders den," she muttered after a moment of silence.

Wavestar purred slightly at her response. "Excellent," she said, her pale amber eyes flashing happily, "You will apologize to Hollyfeather and Shallowwater first, though. Go now, and leave my den." The MarshClan leader flicked her tail, dismissing the small kitten.

Pumakit -with slight reluctance- dipped her head in respect, then shuffled out of the den quietly, her black and dark brown patched tail making a funnel-like trail in the sand below it.

Wavestar's den was in the hollowed-out cave of a hazel bush, protecting with sharp thorns and burrs all around the surface. The Stepping Stones - the place where she addressed the Clan - was just across from her den, making it easy access for the aging leader. Pumakit avoided getting burrs and thorns in her pelt as she stepped out into the clearing.

MarshClan's territory was... Well, marshy, hence the namesake. It was unforgiving to trespassers who weren't familiar with how to deal with such surroundings, and the silent rustle of pine needles on the trees gave the woods an eerie feeling. There were hardly any other trees but pine in MarshClan territory, but the few that weren't had their leaves scattered across the ground in the camp, covering the ground in a crackling, colorful carpet.

Though the camp seemed small and unprotected, the thick branches of brambles and thorns that surrounded the camp repelled intruders, and the dens in the camp were set up in such a way that the nursery and elder's den was well-protected. _The warriors have a clear view of the entrance of camp... I guess I never noticed that before. _Pumakit realized.

"Pumakit!"

The dark brown and black patched she-kit turned at the sounds of three voices. She flicked her ears in greeting to her brothers - Adderkit and Grasskit - and her only sister, Shimmerkit.

Adderkit, a ginger tom-kit, circled Pumakit rapidly, sniffing her pelt here and there with each pawstep he took.

Pumakit growled in annoyance at her brother's behavior. "Quit it, Adderkit! I'm not bleeding or anything!"

Adderkit stepped back from her, his green eyes watchful. "You're lucky Wavestar didn't shred you to bits!"

"We thought she would have," Grasskit snorted.

"I think she _should_ have!" Shimmerkit objected, staring at Pumakit through wide yellow eyes. "You can't act like that, Pumakit! Don't you know how much trouble you can get in for doing that? What if there had been a sudden battle and we had wounded cats? O-or if some cat got sick! What would have Hollyfeather and Shallowwater done then?"

"Easy," Pumakit said bluntly, "They would go get more."

"It's not that easy, frog-brain!" Shimmerkit growled.

"It's not leaf-bare, either, Shimmerkit, so no cat could possibly get sick."

"I don't care! You still shouldn't act like that!"

"Well excuse me for not being 'Little-Miss-Perfect kit' like you!" Pumakit retorted, lashing her tail. "I'm your _sister_, not your clone! Stop treating me like I'm some senseless kit!"

"You act like one all the time!" Shimmerkit hissed.

"Who asked you for your input, smarty-mouse?"

"I did!"

"That doesn't make any sense!"

"Does it look like I care, Pumakit?"

"You don't care about _anything_, Shimmerkit! All you care about is yourself and the warrior code!"

"Because we're supposed to_ follow_ the code, unlike some kit I know!"

Pumakit stared at her sister for a mere heartbeat before letting out a snarl. "Are you talking about yourself, Shimmerkit?" She turned tail and bolted from the clearing, away from her siblings and the judgemental eyes of all the cats. She crashed into the forest, not caring that she didn't know the territory at all. She just wanted - no, _needed - _to get away.

She felt a small drop on her nose, and reaching with her paw she batted at it. She drew her paw away only to have another drop land on her nose, and then another, and another, and another...

_Great, _thought Pumakit, _this is totally how I want to spend my night; drenched in the rain._

She casually trotted around the territory, then took off running, feeling more alive than she ever had.

She suddenly crashed into something fluffy, and looking down she saw a small kitten - it was clearly a tom-kit - sprawled out on the ground, rubbing his cheek with a paw and groaning from the pain.

"Watch where you're going!" he snapped, his eyes daring to meet hers. He was suddenly up on his paws again, staring at her through wide eyes.

"Can I help you with something?" she asked him, sniffing the air cautiously. She drew back from him, hissing in alarm when she smelled his scent. "You're from PondClan!"

"I'm not from there anymore," the kit replied, his eyes flashing with hurt. "I've run away to escape being exiled."

"Well, okay..." Pumakit muttered, still about a mouse-length away from the kit. "Um, my name's Pumakit. What's yours?"

The kit shook out it's rain-drenched pelt, splattering water all over. "Stripekit. Stripekit is my name."

* * *

**Oooh, plot twist! Bet you all weren't expecting that, were you? **

**I honestly wanted them to meet up later in the story, but then I'd have nothing to write until like chapter fourteen. So, I did it now... **

**It's the weekend! YES! That means more updates, hopefully! :D**

**~Ben**


	5. Chapter Three: Stripekit, Pumakit

**Chapter Three ~**

It was Pumakit's eyes that got wide this time. "Stripekit?" She mewed, her voice sounding as if he had come down from StarClan.

"Stripekit, you know... S-T-R-I-P-E-"

"I know how to say it, frog-brain." Pumakit growled, though there was humor in the harsh tone.

Stripekit's eyes fell down to the black and dark brown patched she-kit's paws. They were large and wide, perfect for hunting and pouncing on enemies in battle. Her legs were the perfect shape, curved at the middle and then slender up towards the flank. "I can see why you're named Pumakit," he mewed, not remvoing his gaze from her flank to speak directly to her. "Your legs and paws look powerful." He sat back onto the rain-soaked ground, aware that the mud was probably going to stick to his haunches once he got to his paws again. "You must be proud..."

Pumakit self-conciously looked down at her paws, and Stripekit forced back a purr of amusement. He did what he could do in a situation as this:

He snorted, then burst into laughter.

Pumakit's eyes glared through his eyelids and into his own eyes. "What's so funny?"

"Y-You," Stripekit spluttered through bouts of giggles, falling onto his back with his tail waving up in the air like the wind was blowing against it harshly. "Y-You looked down at your paws like they were some sort of mutant!"

"So what?" Pumakit flashed back, and Stripekit could smell the embarrassment coming off of her like a border marking around the camp; fresh and clean. "What does it matter that my paws and legs are powerful? It doesn't mean I can't win a battle with a kit like you!"

At this, Stripekit stopped laughing and rose to his haunches again, his eyes glimmering in the fading sunlight. "Is that a challenge, she-kit?" He asked, twitching his whiskers.

Pumakit crouched low to the ground, her tail waving back and forth slowly as she focused all her energy on him. "Indeed it is, tom," she teased, then pounced on him with a powerful force.

Stripekit was knocked to the ground with ease, the air flowing out of his lungs. He glared up at Pumakit, who happened to be hovering over him with glory and pride in her yellow eyes. "Well?" Pumakit asked, her ears twitching. "Aren't you going to fight back?"

"No," Stripekit huffed, trying to sound out of breath. "You're... crushing me with your weight! Get off!"

"Oh," purred Pumakit, bending her head so that she was level with Stripekit's muzzle. Her breath tickled his ear as she went on, "Is the little tom giving up already?"

That did it.

Stripekit let out a tiny snarl - as best as he could, being a small kit without any sort of lung power whatsoever - and shoved the she-cat off of him with a force he didn't even knew he had. He watched as Pumakit flew into the thorns and prickles of a bush, growling as she stepped out of it, plucking the things off of her pelt with her teeth. Her yellow eyes were narrowed and gleaming with revenge, yet they were lit by humor and tease. She flew at him, and together they rolled on the grass below them, nipping at each other's ears and tails and yowling about nonsense.

"Shh!" Pumakit growled and wrapped her tail over Stripekit's muzzle as she stared at a wide opening between two trees, covered by bushes. Her ears were pricked, and her yellow eyes were alert and alarmed, as if some cat was coming that wasn't supposed too.

"She's over here!" called a voice, and Stripekit froze in his place on the ground. The voice was close, almost to where the pair of kits were in the sacred area. "I can smell her scent!"

"Oh, rabbit-dung!" Pumakit cursed under her breath, then looked at Stripekit in alarm and worry. "That's my dad! He can't know we're here! We have to hide!"

"I'm not hiding in any place with you!" Stripekit mewed, sticking out his tongue as he had just eaten a bad pieve of fresh-kill.

Without waiting for a reply, Pumakit shoved him forward by his haunches, sending him flying - head first - into a bush. He growled low in his throat as leaves floated down onto his pelt and into his ears, blocking his hearing for a mere heartbeat before he shook them off annoyedly. Pumakit darted in after him, her breathing hollow and ragged.

"What did you do?" Stripekit hissed under his breath, his ears pricked for any signs of pawsteps near their hiding spot.

"I..." It took Pumakit a moment to catch her breath. "I ran towards camp to make them turn back in that direction!"

Stripekit stared at the she-kit like she was an idiot. "You mouse-brain! That was the dumbest move you could have possibly done!"

"You got a better idea, PondClan?" Pumakit retorted, her eyes blazing.

That shut Stirpekit up, and Pumakit purred in success.

"I hate you," Stripekit growled. He looked towards the center of the bush, realizing it was where he had been shoved into. "Do you think it's safe now?"

"I don't know," Pumakit replied, turning her head to look him in the eye. "And by the way, I hate you too."

"Glad to know we're on the same page about _something_," Stripekit muttered.

Pumakit rolled her eyes at him and then poked her head sheepishly out of the bush. The bush rustled every so often as the she-kit turned her head in all directions, watching for cats. She ducked back inside, her gaze hopeful. "I think it's clear," she mewed.

At her words, Stripekit bolted from the bush, leaving her behind inside. He shook the scent of leaves, Pumakit, and tree sap off of him and licked his pelt, smoothing down the now ruffled and unkept fur.

Pumakit calmly padded out into the clearing, her pelt sleek and shining in the rising moon. She looked up at the sky, her eyes glittering like stars. Stripekit couldn't help but look up as well.

"I love staring up at the sky at night... It's always so peaceful and quiet."

Stripekit looked down from the sky to find Pumakit looking at him.

"Oh," He mewed, feeling his muzzle grow slightly red from embarrassment. "Um, y-yeah. I do too."

A small smile formed on Pumakit's muzzle. "PondClan cats are so... so _awkward_."

"Hey!" Stripekit retorted, feeling hurt. "Don't say that! Not all PondClan cats are that way!"

"So it's just you, then?" Amusement lit Pumakit's yellow gaze.

"No! It's not me at all!"

Pumakit snorted at his response. "Okay, PondClan. Whatever you say."

**Pumakit~**

It was a few heartbeats of silence before Pumakit heard chattering. Turning her head, she noticed that Stripekit was shaking beneath his pelt, and she could see how; his pelt was short and wiry, not built to withstand the harsh and cold temperatures that was within MarshClan land.

"You cold?" She asked, forcing herself not to move towards him for warmth.

Stripekit looked at her, his eyes flashing. "N-no, I-I'm so w-warm! L-look at t-this!"

Pumakit rolled her eyes. "No, you're freezing, kit. I can tell by the way your paws are shaking against the ground like a beetle's wings when it flies."

Stripekit looked down at his paws, flattening his ears to his head. "I-I g-guess I a-am c-cold..."

Pumakit couldn't help but purr at the kit's shyness. _He's about the shyest PondClan cat I've ever met! _she thought. "Do you want to go back to your home, Stripekit?" It felt weird to call the tom-kit by his name, now that Pumakit thought about it.

Stripekit shook his head vigorously, still not removing his gaze from his paws. "N-no. I-I'm n-not w-wanted th-there."

"Would it help if I sat next to you for warmth?"

_Stupid! _she scolded herself inwardly. _You're making friends with the enemy!_

_He's cold, _she replied to herself, _I have a longer pelt than he does. I'm doing him a favor! _

He tore his gaze from his paws to look at her; his pale green eyes, which were shining with trust and hope, settled onto her yellow, boring into them. "I-If y-you wou-wouldn't m-mind... T-That'd be g-great."

Pumakit nodded, ignoring the scoldings her inner mind was giving her and settled down next to him, guiding him over to a bush where he could lay down without being pelted with rain. "Is that better?" she asked once he was settled amonst the warmth of her pelt and bush itself.

Stripekit nodded; but his jaw moving up and down rapidly, and Pumakit knew that he was still slightly cold, but it would die down once he was warmed up.

"Thank you," he murmured as he curled into a ball beside her, his eyes closing shut and his breathing slowly dimming to a soft him. He was asleep.

Pumakit laid her head on her paws, closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep as well.

Her dreams were filled with light brown fur, with darker brown stripes.

They were brushing against a black and dark brown pelt.

It was her and Stripekit, and Pumakit fell asleep with a smile on her face.

**Anybody happy I double updated within an hour? LOOOVEEE IS SPARKING! OMGGG! :D **

**I love this pairing. Now, please don't kill me for making love happen so early in this. I mean for that to happen for the plot! **

**~Ben :D**


	6. Chapter Four: Stripekit, Pumakit

**Chapter Four ~ Stripekit**

When he awoke the next morning, Pumakit was no longer next to him, and the spot where she had been reeked of MarshClan.

**Pumakit ~**

When she awoke, she was no longer by Stripekit.

She looked around the area, trying to figure out where she was; she finally found out, after a moment of realization, that she had been carried back to MarshClan's camp.

She let out a growl. They had left Stripekit behind.

She rose to her paws rather quickly, anger coming off of her in waves.

Her paws rapped against the floor of the nursery as she stormed out of the den, looking for her father in the dawning light the sun was protruding onto the camp.

She found her father, Frogleap, sitting beside her mother Freezewind. The pair were sharing a hefty portion of frog, giving little bits and pieces to Adderkit, Shimmerkit, and Grasskit, who tumbled around them in a game.

Pumakit felt jealousy burn in the pit of her belly. She stomped the entire way over to her parents, ready to give them a piece of her mind. "Mother, Father," she meowed with a harsh tone, "May I speak with you, alone?" She added 'alone' when she saw her siblings looking hopeful that they would be part of the conversation.

Frogleap licked the remains of his meal off around his jaws and settled his gaze on his daughter, dismissing her request. "Is this about that other kit we found with you?"

Freezewind let out a snort. "We couldn't bring that PondClan rodent back to camp with us, Pumakit. Honestly, do you think all of MarshClan are daft?"

"He isn't a 'PondClan rodent', Mother! He's a kit, just like me!"

"A kit that does not belong on our territory, Pumakit." came the voice of Hollyfeather and Wavestar together.

Pumakit defiantly turned her head to look at her leader and the medicine cat. "He is harmless! I know in my heart he is! Go and get him, please!"

"Why?" Shimmerkit asked, a smirk dancing on her muzzle. "What does a PondClan cat got to do with MarshClan? He could be a spy, frog-brain!"

"Your sister is right," murmured Freezewind with a proud look at her other daughter, "The kit could be a spy. It could just be looking for the perfect cat to take pity upon it -"

"And then go back and tell PondClan all it knows!" Adderkit and Grasskit added with a flick of their tails.

"Really, Pumakit..." Her fathers voice was laced with disappointment, like she had just told them she was expecting kits with a medicine cat or something out of the blue. "Leave the kit be."

"It deserves to stay there," muttered Shimmerkit, and Pumakit turned her head to find her sister standing before her with a smug look on her face. "With leaf bare on the way, it deserves to die, and then just rot there. It's not like any cat is going to go fetch it."

Pumakit let out a hiss and lashed out a paw, scratching her sister on the muzzle harshly. Shimmerkit let out a wail, as if she had been struck in the heart, and flopped onto the ground, acting as if she were seriously injured.

"Pumakit!" scolded the six cats around them both.

"How dare you hurt your sister like that?" Freezewind snarled, clearly shocked by the way Shimmerkit was squealing and squirming against the ground. "What did she ever do to you?"

"She's done everything!" Pumakit cried, years stinging at the corners of her eyes, "And you all doting on her has just made it worse!"

"Get out of here," Frogleap snarled at his daughter, and Pumakit felt a sharp pang in her heart at the hatred in her father's voice. "You're not wanted here anymore! Get out of our sight, and never come back!"

She looked to her leader, hoping that Wavestar would back her up on this. But her leader just flicked an ear and meowed, "Pumakit, leave us. You are hereby exiled from MarshClan."

The sharp pang in her heart disappeared for a mere heartbeat before it swarmed into her chest, making it hard to breathe. Her eyes darted from cat to cat, hoping that one of them would stick by her. They all just stared at her with hatred, disgust, and betrayal...

She really wasn't wanted within this Clan. Just like Stripekit wasn't wanted in his.

* * *

**Stripekit~**

He watched as Pumakit flew through the opening to their hiding place, her pelt sticking up all over the place and her eyes dull, like something had happened.

"Are you okay, Pumakit?" He was trying to sound friendly, almost gentle, as if Pumakit were a small, newborn kit he was trying to comfort. But she was at least a moon older than him, and he knew it wouldn't work.

Her yellow gaze settled on his. She opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again after a heartbeat, as if she had no words to describe how she felt.

"Pumakit?" He asked again, taking a step towards her. He lightly pushed himself against her, their pelts brushing. "Pumakit? Talk to me!"

"I..." Pumakit's voice was soft and minuscule. Stripekit had to prick his ears so he could hear her speak. "I have been exiled from my Clan, Stripekit..."

Stripekit let out a sharp hiss and began to pace in front of Pumakit, aware of her dull eyes watching him. "Great StarClan!" He cursed to the sky. "Why another cat? First me, and now Pumakit! Why do you hate us? What did we ever do to -"

"Stripekit... Stop."

He turned to her then, pale green eyes blazing. "No! They've -" he directed to the sky with his tail, "done nothing but harm us! We've been _exiled_, Pumakit! We are to never return to our homes again! Don't you understand that?"

"Of course I understand!" Pumakit flashed back. "Maybe it's for the best, though! Maybe... Maybe you and I were supposed to meet!"

"Meet in a bush? That's _totally_ what I had in mind for meeting a cat."

"What I'm saying is that you and I were meant to meet, Stripekit. I can feel it in my paws and heart-"

"Oh, here we go..." muttered Stripekit, rolling his eyes.

"That you and I were meant to be friends!" Pumakit's eyes were shining with hope.

Stripekit suddenly flushed, his cheeks turning a rosey pink, as if he were blushing. "Uh... W-What if we were meant to be more than friends?"

Pumakit looked at him like he had just grown wings. "What? More than friends?"

Stripekit nodded, flattening his ears to his head and ducking his head in embarrassment. "Y-Yeah... Was that weird to ask?"

Pumakit's tail was suddenly under his chin, guiding his gaze back to hers. "No, actually... It was the perfect question to ask."

Stripekit smiled for the first time in a while. His heart was ramming against his chest, feeling like it would burst out of it when he meowed, "Pumakit... I know this going to be weird and awkward to say, b-but..."

Pumakit let out a purr and stepped forward, licking his muzzle. "I know what you're going to say," she mewed, her yellow eyes warm. "And I like you, too."

* * *

**Awww! Kitteh fluffiness! Yup, I made them confess their looove for each other early on, leads for more drama and fluff in the plot! **

**~Ben**


	7. Chapter Five: Stripekit, Pumakit

**Chapter Five ~**

"My mother used to tell me how the trees wave to you..."

Stripekit looked to Pumakit then, their pelts brushing as they sat beside one another in the light of the dimming sun.

"Trees don't wave," Stripekit snorted, twitching his whiskers. "They're trees, for StarClan's sake."

Look with your heart, Stripekit, murmured a voice he did not know. It was smooth like honey yet warm like his mother's. Not with your eyes...

"Look," Pumakit mewed, guiding his gaze up to the trees that hovered above them with her tail. "Look at how they sway in the wind... It's a beautiful sight."

Stripekit, unsure of what he was doing, raised one of his slim paws. He put it up in the air and swung it back and forth slowly, as if waving back to the trees in a silent and unmurmured farewell.

He heard Pumakit purr and felt her pelt against his, and the tom-kit sighed in contempt. He was a few tail-tip lengths taller then Pumakit, her ear-tips just barely reaching the top of his head.

The wind rustled the trees' movements and Stripekit's pelt, buffeting it against his frame. In the two moons both had been living in an old abandoned Twoleg den after managing to escape the Clans' territory, Stripekit was well on his way to becoming a strong and noble cat; Pumakit was the same way, yet she would master the skills of a caring and genuine soul.

Each were now ten moons, yet they looked as if they were seasons old. Stripekit, with his muscular and rippling pelt and strong deminor; Pumakit, with her lithe and slender figure and powerful legs... Stripekit was happy; happier than he had been his entire life.

"We need new names, you know."

Stripekit turned to his love, staring at her through pale green eyes. "I know that very well, Pumakit. But... But I can't help but feel this strange tug in my heart whenever I bring the concept up in my head... It's like I'll be stripped away from my life as a Clan cat if I change my name."

"You're not a Clan cat anymore," Pumakit pointed out. "You left, remember?"

"And who's to say I wanted to leave?" Stripekit objected, his eyes flashing. When he settled his eyes upon the crestfallen and hurt look in Pumakit's eyes, his eyes grew soft and the flash died down to a dull glow. He nuzzled her, hoping it would resolve the argument. "I'm sorry, Pumakit. I didn't mean to snap at you, it's just -"

"I know." Pumakit answered hotly, "I know all good and well, Stripekit."

"Puma," Stripekit mewed, calling the black and dark brown patched she-cat by the nickname he had made for her, "I'm sorry... I really, truly am. It's just that Clan life is a difficult -"

"A difficult concept to talk about," Pumakit mimicked Stripekit's usual answer, "I know, okay? I get it. You don't have to keep telling me." She looked away from him and over to the trees, staring into the black hole that was the entrance, as if it were the best thing there.

**Pumakit ~**

"Puma... Puma, look at me, please..."

She looked at the light brown tom, annoyance clear in her yellow eyes. "What? What do you want, Stripekit?"

Stripekit winced at her fierce tone. "I'm sor -"

"Ugh!" Pumakit groaned, slamming her paw down on the ground. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Just stop saying that, Stripekit!"

His pale green eyes flashed with hurt. He flattened his ears to his head and mewed softly, "I... I guess I'll just go, then..." He padded away, into the bush the pair had been sleeping in with one another since they had first met almost three moons ago.

She immediately felt terrible. Pumakit forced herself to put one paw in front of the other and inch towards the bush, poking her head inside sheepishly, as if something could come and eat her from within it.

"I knew you'd come," murmured a voice. She whipped her head to the right and faced him. Stripekit was laying on a pile of leaves with a smug look on his face. Pumakit rolled her eyes at him.

"You, tom, are such a pawful to deal with."

"Oh, don't be like that," Stripekit purred, fake hurt dripping off of his words. "You know how sensitive I am..."

She snorted and padded towards him, setting her haunches down on the ground so she sat before him, their eyes level. "I feel really bad, you know..." she looked at her paws, shame washing over her like a giant wave.

She felt Stripekit's eyes burn into her fur. "What about?" Pumakit forced back the urge to cry. She couldn't do that, directly in front of him. It would make her seem weak, and she didn't want that. "Things." she answered solemnly, not wanting to go into detail.

"What kind of things?"

She rose her gaze from her paws and glared at him. "Things you don't want to know about... Things you shouldn't even want to hear."

Stripekit's gaze softened, his features following suit. He looked almost sympathetic, almost genuinely sad, almost... Heartbroken, to say the least. "I want to hear them, though. I want to know if I relate to you as much as I feel I do." His voice sounded so sincere, so cerine...

She fell for it. "You really want to know, Stripekit?"

The nod he gave her answered her question.

"Well, okay..." She paused, biting her lip for a moment, contemplating her thoughts. She took in a breath and then exhaled, looking him straight in the eyes as she fell, face first, into memories that weren't meant to be shared or remembered.

"Ever since I was born, my parents - Freezewind and Frogleap - always put my sister, Shimmerkit and my brothers, Adderkit and Grasskit, before me. I was the youngest in my family, which meant I was the one who got all the punishments and abuse because no cat - not even Wavestar, our leader - thought my siblings could do anything wrong." She fought back tears and she turned her head, revealing a huge scar that stretched from the top of her left ear all the way down to her tail. "Do you see this scar?" She asked him, biting her lip to keep from crying.

Stripekit nodded, his eyes solemn.

"That scar was given to me by my mother," she felt bile rising in her throat as she spoke the next words. Words that she wanted to forget. "My father... He... He used to..." she shut her eyes, tears streaming down her face and onto her paws. "He would mate with me to try and get me to have kits when I was five moons old! My mother had told him she couldn't bear any more kits... S-so he took it out on me..."

"So that's why you were afraid of me the first time we met..." Stripekit mewed, his eyes flashing. "You thought I would do the same, didn't you?"

Pumakit let out a whimper, indicating he was correct.

"Puma..." Stripekit's voice was laced with sorrow, hurt, and sympathy all at once. "Come here..."

She obliged like it was all she could do. She raced the three pawstep distance between them and buried her face in his chest fur, sobbing. Stripekit heard her trying to regain her composure, sniffling and takin deep breaths, but he just stayed there, laying next to her, being her rock for the time being.

He lay there until the glowing light of the dawning sun streamed through the narrow entrance of the bush. Pumakit was still beside him, sobbing her eyes out.

He decided to sing her the lullaby he had made for himself. He knew that it would comfort her for the time being. In a slow and melodic voice, he started:

_"'Cause I'll be by your side wherever you fall_

_In the dead of night whenever you call_

_And please don't fight these paws that are holding you_

_My paws are holding you..."_

* * *

**That was pure cute. Like holy crap. :D *fanboys about StripexPuma* **

**I do NOT own the song 'By Your Side' by Tenth Avenue North. **

**Please do not flame for Pumakit'a backstory with her father deal. I've had that happen to me, except it was with my mother, and I needed to show dark and sad during this chapter. PM me if you are offended by the content. **

**~Ben**


	8. Chapter Six: Stripe, Puma, Stripe

**Chapter Six ~**

He awoke to the sound of screaming.

Stripekit's pelt was on end as he sat up in the nest, looking around the dark space for Pumakit's dark brown and black patched pelt. He looked down at his paws and found her, yowling her head off with tears running down her face.

"Puma?" Stripekit asked, shaking her lightly with one of his paws. She let out a hiss and yowled some words that were incoherent. He shook her over and over again, harsher than the last. "Puma! Wake _up!"_

She rose to her paws quickly, hissing and lashing out a paw in her blinded state. It whacked Stripekit on the eye, and much to his displeasure her claws were unsheathed. He let out a scream of agony and fell to the ground, his eyes stinging and feeling as if it were touching the sun.

Pumakit gasped in horror at what she had done to him, and he felt her pelt brushing against his as the she-cat crouched low to the ground where he lay, reaching forward with her forepaws to examine his eye. "Stop wriggling!" she growled, shooting him a sharp look, "Or you'll just make it worse! I've got to get a good look at it first!"

He held himself still as best he could, and winced when she lightly dabbed at the blood on his eyelid. "Stop it," he mewed, sounding like a kit who was getting groomed over and over again by its mother, "It hurts, Pumakit!"

The she-cat bit her lip for a moment before drawing away, blinking at him. "Well, you're lucky," she murmured, nipping a leaf off of the bush and placing it over his eye, "I happen to have watched the medicine cats do work like this, so I know what I'm doing." She rose to her paws, shaking out her pelt. "I've got to go sneak into camp for a moment to grab the right herbs, but I'll be back."

"Sneak into camp?" Stripekit rose to his paws, blinking at her through his non-leaf covered eye. "Are you insane, Pumakit?"

"Do you want to see out of that eye or not, Stripekit?" She retorted sharply.

He nodded without a moment's hesitation, and she stepped forward to touch her nose to his. "I won't be long, Stripekit..." she murmured, and then was gone, the leaves shaking in her departure.

**Stripekit ~**

It seemed like ages until Pumakit got back.

When she did in fact come through the entrance, he asked bluntly:

"What was it you were dreaming about earlier?"

She looked at him after a moment of sorting through leaf bundles, the tangy scents of herbs reaching his nostrils. "It was nothing," she meowed, dismissing the question with a flick of her tail. She picked up some herbs in her mouth and began chewing them, her eyes narrowed at the leaf-dense wall of the bush.

"Were... Were you dreaming about your dad?"

She looked him in the eye, her yellow eyes blazing. She spat out the herb, which had now become a glop of something sticky and gross-looking. She dabbed her paw in it, removed the blood-soaked leaf from Stripekit's eye, and began her task of applying each small pawful by pawful onto his eye.

"Were you, Pumakit?" He asked again, annoyed that she wouldn't answer him.

She didn't reply.

He turned his head the other way on purpose, so that Pumakit couldn't finish applying the glop on his eye.

"Hey!" Pumakit mewed indignantly. "Turn back towards me! I've got to finish this!"

"I'm not turning back until you tell me." Stripekit retorted, flicking his tail.

"Tell you what?"

"Tell me if you were having a nightmare about your dad!"

He could feel her wince, as if she had just been clawed in the heart. She swallowed harshly, exhaled a breath and was silent for a moment. "Y-Yes," she mewed after a moment, "I was... It always happens. It's been constant ever since I was six moons. I've pretty much grown up with them."

He turned back to her, satisfied. "But you were yowling and screaming in your sleep," he murmured quietly as she finished her task and now lay beside him, their eyes locking.

"Some are worse than others," she replied, looking down at her paws.

He guided her gaze back to his with a lick of her muzzle. "You know I would never do that, right?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at her skeptically.

Pumakit blinked. "I guess I do," she meowed, resting her head on his shoulder, "But I'll always have that fear around any tom..."

"You know," Stripekit sighed against her fur as he rested his head on top of hers, "I never told you my story, did I?"

He felt Pumakit shake her head.

"Would you like to hear it?"

He felt her nod.

He raised his head from hers and got to his paws, sitting in front of her like she had done to him just a night ago.

"I was also the one in my family who took abuse and heartache. My parents, Quietleap and Stormwater, doted and focused all their time on my siblings Shadowkit and Quailkit and basically left me for dust. There was an apprentice," he paused, biting his lip, "An apprentice named Shadepaw..." he shuddered, as if saying the cat's name was haunting him, "A-and she did bad things to me, just as your father did to you. She, like your father, forced mating upon me. It got bad, to the point where she ended up becoming a she-cat who was deranged and wanted all toms to be her mate, all because of what she did to me... I-I started to do this," he turned his paws over, revealing several long strips of missing fur from all around his paws and legs. "I would claw myself, tearing my fur off to deal with it. My family thought I was crazy,"

A tear cascaded down his cheek.

"A-and I honestly believed them..."

Another, and another, and another...

"I wanted to die, so many times, Pumakit..."

Another...

"I willed, prayed, even called to my ancestors to just take me... Just make me die."

Another, another, another...

"So then I could forget all that I had endured in my life..."

Drip, drip, drip...

"Shadepaw - Shadewater, now... I want her dead. I want her punished for her crimes, for what she did to me."

His tears of sorrow changed to ones of anger.

"I want them all dead. I want them slowly, deliberately, and painfully killed."

Drip, drip, drip...

"And I will stop at nothing to do just that."


	9. Chapter Seven

**Chapter Seven ~**

Pumakit struggled to breathe. She wriggled around, trying to inhale the air, but there was so much pressure on her she felt she was dying.

"Useless. You will bear my kits, you useless thing. Then you shall die." A gruff voice hissed in her ear, and Pumakit suddenly felt as though she were on fire.

"No! Please, leave me alone! No!" She choked out, but the memories of her father's voice just laughed at her, enjoying her pain and suffering as though it were a piece of fresh-kill.

"STOP!" She screamed at last, awake beside Stripekit. She panted, grateful to breathe, though she still felt as though her very flesh was burning. She groomed her pelt in an effort to calm herself, but no matter how much she licked, Pumakit knew she would never be dirt-free.

A burning hatred rose in Pumakit's stomach. She used to love her father, but after he revealed the monster he was, all Pumakit wanted to do was swim in her former clan's blood. She shook her head. It would never happen. She was just a kit, after all, not even with an apprentice name.

But the desire for vengeance still churned in her belly.

She looked at Stripekit. _I'll never feel love without fear because of my father. He deserves to be slaughtered._ She thought to herself.

A gleam of pale green peeked out from behind the dark shape. "You awake?" He murmured sleepily, the shot up into a sitting position, his worried gaze settling on her. "What happened? What did you dream about, Puma?"

_You will bear my kits, and then you shall die..._ The voice of Frogleap echoed in her mind and Pumakit shut her eyes tightly, biting her lip to keep the bile that rose in her throat down.

"Hey, hey," Pumakit felt Stripekit's warm and soft pelt against her, and she opened her eyes to look at him. His pale green eyes were concerned and worried, with a slight glimmer of anger in between. "What were you dreaming about?"

Pumakit took a deep breath, shut her eyes as tears started to fall and flattened her ears to her head. "I-It's nothing, just a dumb dream..."

"It obviously wasn't dumb if you're looking as if you want to cry, Pumakit." He covered her closed eyes in licks, keeping the running tears at bay for a moment.

"It was him, wasn't it?" The growl that laced with the words, followed by a snarl were terrifying to Pumakit. She had never heard Stripekit growl and snarl like that.

Pumakit let out a whimper, afraid to use words to tell him he was right. She swallowed, her voice cracking with hurt as she mewed, "Y-Yeah... It was."

"Was it bad?"

She blew air from her cheeks for a mere heartbeat before answering honestly. "It was worse than last night. I'll say that."

"How can our clans be like this?" Stripekit asked, half to himself. "How can they be so cruel?"

"I don't know, Stripekit." Pumakit shook her head sadly. "I don't know..."

* * *

**Stripekit ~**

"Ugh!" Stripekit hissed under his breath as the mouse he had been stalking scurried away into the safety of an underground burrow. "Why can't I catch anything?"

"Maybe because you keep shouting and scaring them off? That seems reasonable." Pumakit commented, and Stripekit turned his head to look at the black and dark brown shape that perched on a low branch just above him.

"How can you stand to be up on that branch?" Stripekit asked her, turning his attention away from the thoughts of hunting.

Pumakit shrugged. "I don't really know... MarshClan cats aren't very skilled when it comes to tree climbing. We're best at stalking at night because of all our dark pelts."

"PondClan cats are appalled at the thought of climbing a tree," Stripekit snorted at the remark he was making on his old Clan. "I guess they're afraid of breaking a claw or something!"

Pumakit laughed at this, and Stripekit's heat soared in his chest; ever since Pumakit had told him about her ordeal with her father, the she-cat hadn't been smiling, laughing, or purring much to any of his remarks or jokes. Making her laugh now felt really good inside, as if he were helping out some old elder that could no longer care for themselves.

"I've an idea," Stripekit mewed, smiling wickedly.

Pumakit's eyes flashed. "Okay, I'm scared."

"You should be." Stripekit winked at her, purring. He trotted away from her, smiling wider when he heard Pumakit scrambling after him. "Come on! I've got the perfect place we can get some food."

* * *

**Pumakit ~**

"I officially hate toms." Pumakit growled as she followed Stripekit into her former home.

Stripekit looked back at her and blinked his pale green eyes. "Hate you, too, she-cat."

Pumakit rolled her eyes and flicked her tail. "I don't think this is a good idea, Stripekit..." she murmured, casting suspicious glances at all the dens.

Stripekit padded beside her and pressed his pelt to hers. "Don't worry, Puma. If they so much as get a whisker too close to you, I'll shred -"

"Well, would you look at this, Father?" came a sneer from the darkness of the tree line.

Pumakit whirled around, hissing. _No, please... Please not them... Please, any cat but him... _

A dark ginger shape appeared out of the trees, his green eyes glimmering humorously. "Well, if it isn't my daughter," he let out a purr, his eyes flashing with lust. "How nice to see you again..."

Pumakit swallowed harshly. "You... You too, Father."

"This is him?" Stripekit snarled under his breath, his pelt bristling. "This is the cat who did those things to you?"

She nodded solemnly, unable to make words.

A black shape - with shining ocean blue eyes - stepped out of the darkness and stood beside Frogleap. This time, it was Stripekit who stiffened.

"What is it?" She asked him, twitching an ear. "Who is that cat?"

He spoke a word, one word... One word that brought forward so many memories for him Stripekit collapsed from shock.

"S-Shadewater..."


	10. Chapter 8

**I apologize in advance for the shortness of this chapter. I hadn't planned for the entire thing to be this short, because when I typed it up on my phone it was like THREE FREAKING PAGES.**

**Chapter Eight ~ Stripekit**

He could feel Shadewater's ocean eyes on him. Frogleap's lustrous gaze on Pumakit. Pumakit's worry mew in his ears... It didn't seem real. There was no way he was in a situation like this.

"Oh, look..." came of the purr of the cat he despised. "Little Stripey's got some nerves..."

"That's Stripekit to you," Pumakit's hiss was defensive, and anger was coming off of her pelt like water.

"You're kidding, right?" Shadewater's gaze flickered over to Pumakit, a scoff threading with the words. "Little kit, I think you don't know who you're dealing with."

"I know good and well, Shadewater." Pumakit growled. "Stripekit's told me everything. Everything you've done to him to cause him pain!"

"Oh," Shadewater meowed, shoving Pumakit roughly aside so that Frogleap was pinning her tail down with a paw so that she couldn't escape. "You mean... Like this?"

Claws. Pain. Blood.

That was all Stripekit felt. Those three things. Her claws, ripping his flesh and scoring down his pelt. His blood, staining the ground and Shadewater's cruel yet skilled paws. His cries of pain, of agony, of betrayal and mercy... Ringing out for all to hear.

Of course, no cat bothered to come out of the dens to see what was happening.

"You think those warriors, apprentices, elders... Any of them? You think they'll come and save a useless and pitiful kit like you, Stripey?" Shadewater made a tsking noise with her tongue, as if ashamed. "You poor, poor thing. You don't know how many cats don't even care about you..." She grasped his scruff and dragged him to his paws, roughly cuffing her claws under his chin to make him look at her. "Look at me, scrap, look at me!" She demanded.

He blinked open his eyes to look at her ravenous and... Scarred face. Her entire left side had no fur on it, as if she had been burned. "See this?" She asked, and he nodded as Shadewater directed with her tail to the burnt part of her face. "This is what happened to me. What got done to me for what you said I did..." Her eyes turned to fires of rage. "And now... Now, little weakling, you shall feel this same pain. This same agony, this same... Hurt. The hurt I didn't deserve and which you do!"

"Stop it! Let him go!" Pumakit screeched, and Shadewater turned to the dark brown and black patched kit with a cackle escaping her muzzle.

"Ha! You think I'm just going to let this... This disgrace go? Let him run free of harm and revenge? Well, little one, then you certainly don't know Stripekit at all."

"He's done nothing to you! Let him go!"

"Done nothing to me? My, little one, have you no common sense? Have you no sight? Look at what that traitor did to me!"

"It's not his fault you did those things to him!"

"It's his fault I'm like this! It's his fault I'm the laughing stock of my Clan!" Shadewater snarled.

"Stop..." Stripekit pleaded, rising shakily to his full height. He swayed on his paws for a moment, trying to get the nausea of standing to pass before he spoke again. "Stop arguing..." He looked at Shadewater, his eyes dull. "Just... Try not to make me look too hideous..."

"Oh, I won't..." Shadewater purred, lashing out at him.

Her ocean blue eyes, full of revenge and lies, were the last things he saw before his entire world went black.

**Pumakit ~**

"I'm hideous."

She looked down at the puddle he was looking into in order to see his reflection. "No, you're not." She murmured, placing her tail around his shoulders.

"Yeah I am," Stripekit meowed, his voice rough and deep as he turned his head to look at her through his one good eye. Shadewater's claws had tore his other eye from its socket, causing him to only have one eye and a giant patch of fur missing from his right side, along with only a shred of his right ear left. "You can admit it."

"You're not hideous, Stripekit." Pumakit insisted, touching her nose fiercely against his. "You're still my Stripekit... My wonderful, handsome Stripekit."

This, much to Pumakit's happiness, made him smile a small bit. "Thanks," he murmured, nuzzling her affectionately. "I needed to smile for a few seconds..."

Pumakit couldn't help but smile and nuzzle him back. She suddenly got an idea in her mind and leaned forward so that she could whisper it in Stripekit's ear.

His eyes got wide when she pulled away. "A-are you sure? Like... Now?"

"Oh, come on," she teased, flicking him over the ear with her tail, "Are you that timid? I'm not like her, Stripekit..."

"Promise?"

She smiled again and wrapped her tail over his, making the fur combine into one. "I promise..." She purred as she led him into their happy and sacred place within the bush.

***wink, wink* Hehehe! I'm so evil, aren't I? :D **

**I'm watching a movie where a scene just like this had just taken place and I thought, "Why not put it into a story?" XD **

**Anyone wanna guess what they're gonna do? I'll be nice and give you a hint: It involves... Meh, nope. Not gonna tell ;)**

**~The Evil-ish Ben :D**


	11. Authors Note: GRAB TISSUES!

_Readers,_

_I am very grateful for each and every one of you that has accepted me as Petalwish's successor. It has brought joy to my heart and I can never thank you enough. You all have made me laugh with your reviews, PMs, and overall comments on my writing. You have all made me smile with your reviews, PMs, etc. and it is truly wonderful to wake up each morning and see I have a new review from one of you. _

_However, my joy has slightly dulled as I have gone farther into my cancer treatment and have now come to the conclusion that I, ultimately, have only a few months to live. About five to six months, they said to me... And it truly broke my heart to hear that, because I wouldn't be able to update my fanfictions for all of you to read once those months are up. _

_You are my family now. And I love you all so, so much. You are all the brothers and sisters I have never had; you are the bright light that shines in the dark parts of my life... You are all my salvation. You all are what keeps me going day after day... _

_I have never met such amazing people such as you all. Even if I don't know any of you, I can tell you all are caring and genuine people. And you even feel the need to review my crappy writing style, which makes my heart bloom with happiness..._

_I plan to continue with my writing, thought it will __not be updated as a story content._

_I shall remain in Ff, though it is most likely I will not update my stories anymore. I will, however, answer PMs and review stories, all that jazz. _

_ Now, my readers... If I may, I feel I must explain my story to you._

_I was born in Sacramento, California to a mother who had been a prostitute at age 12 until she had me at 17. My father I've never met because it was a one-night-stand basis between him and my mother. _

_I have a sister, Brianna. She's never met her father either. My mother had her when she was only 15._

_My mother would often treat my sister like she was some prized jewel and I as slop. She wouldn't feed me until she and Brianna were finished, and she would only feed me a few scraps off of her dinner plate. My sister was more humble, giving me a few small handfuls of chips as I would sneak past them in the living room at night while they were watching TV. _

_I was only four years old when my mother started to sexually abuse me._

_I had merely been sleeping peacefully throughout the night. But I could feel my mother on top of me, her skin up against mine and her lips cascading down my body... _

_And when I woke up... Her body was covered in my fluids. _

_And I have had nightmares ever since then. _

_When I was eleven I started middle school, just as any normal kid. I was bullied for being different than the other boys, for not liking PlayBoy magazines... (Where I went to school it was really screwed up.) _

_I had only one friend at the time. My best friend from preschool, Nikolas. I call him Nikki. _

_Nikki and I stuck by one another all throughout middle and high school... Even college. _

_It was one night (January 1st, 2014) where he and I were watching a movie in our dorm room. We were both snug in some blankets and I had my head in his lap, just as I've always done ever since we were kids. _

_It was when the screen went black, the movie stopped and the room was dark when Nikki, my best friend, kissed me. _

_And I kissed him back._

_It was then that I realized that I, Bennett Grayson (I don't have a last name XD), loved my best friend. _

_You wanna know what happened after? _

_He and I are now engaged. We plan to be wed this coming July. _

_Anyways, so. _

_My sister is now married and has my two wonderful nieces, Kira and Brailynn. She's expecting a son, who they plan on naming Grayson, after my middle name. _

_My mother has now since died of lung cancer, and I know you all know that. You all know that I also have cancer, stage four of leukemia. _

_I've lost all of my once shaggy black hair... Yet, my soon-to-be husband still calls me his 'handsome boy.' _

_... And it feels amazing, being called that after all I've been through. _

_And on March 9th, 2014, I met all of you. _

_And you all have been amazing. _

_I love you all, my family. And I will not abandon you when I am gone, for I shall be forever in the sky above, watching all of you grow and prosper on without me. _

_With love, _

_~Bennett Grayson, with accompaniment from Nikolas Lippens. _


	12. Another Author Note

**_Readers,_**

Hello, everyone. It's Ben again.

I know, another authors note... I've been doing an awful lot of those lately XD. First with Black and White and now with Stripes XD.

Anyways...

I've been thinking about a lot of things. Especially you guys and how you're gonna take all of this once I type it out:

I hate myself. I hate myself for having this disease and leaving you all so soon in my life... It's just not fair. I've only begun to know you guys and now... Now my life's being short-lived and I hate myself for being like this.

I don't want to leave you guys... I don't want to leave you guys or Nikki at all... You all (Nikki included) are what keep me from killing myself night after night... You all keep me at bay from having panic attacks and all that jazz because I'm that screwed up from memories of my past.

Nikki has always told me this. It's one of his favorite lines to tell me whenever I'm sad or down:

"Darling, open your eyes. You are not made up of those words that hurt you; or that number on the scale; or the expectations you feel you will never reach. You are made up of one thing: You.

Simply, handsomely, uniquely you.

You are a loving and complex soul. Nothing more than that can describe you.

Look past that mirror. Look past those numbers on that scale. Look past your fears. Look past everything and see what you truly are:

You, Bennett Grayson, are you.

You, Bennett Grayson, are my best friend.

You, Bennett Grayson, are my soon-to-be husband and the man I will spend the rest of my life with.

And I couldn't - or wouldn't - have it any other way.

With life and love,

~Nikki."

I always cry when I read that. Because I really, truly, don't know how anyone could love me as much as all of you and Nikki do.

So thank you. All of you.

With love,

~Ben

Oh! I almost forgot:

Thank you for the wonderful reviews. I love you all.

You've made my life truly wonderful. You've made my life happy.

You've made my life worth saving.

With love and life,

~Bennett Grayson Lippens.


	13. Author's Note from Nikki! :D

Readers...

Hey, guys. I'm Nikolas, Ben's fiancé. But you guys can call me Nikki :3

SO MANY AUTHOR NOTES I SWEAR ON STARCLAN -

Ahem. Sorry, got carried away there XD.

Honestly, I think the rest of Stripes is just going to be stinking Author Notes from both Ben and I... Would that be wrong? Creepy? Weird?

Yeah, all of the above was what I was thinking too.

Anyways, I didn't type this to be my goofy self. I've typed this to thank you.

I know Ben's said thank you an awful lot during his author notes, but you guys have never heard it from me in my own note. So, thank you, everyone.

Really. Thank you so, so much for making Ben see that life is worth living when you've got people that love you.

He's gone through so much in his life... Great Firestar I really want to cry right now but I won't for his sake, since he's right beside me.

It's not fair, you know? To watch one you love go through all that... To watch him try and kill himself on numerous occasions... It hurts, really bad. And although you all can't see the look on my face through the computer screen... Well, let's just say I'm trying very hard not to cry.

Now that he's got cancer just makes his life a whole lot harder. Both mentally and physically, because he's lost most of his upper body strength and is too weak to hold himself up, so I've bought him one of those wheel walker things... He uses that all day, every day. It really pains me to see him, my best friend, my future husband in such... Despair? Pain? Hurt? Those aren't even the right words...

Disappointed.

That's the word. Disappointed.

He's disappointed in himself, for reasons he doesn't even tell me.

Most nights I have to wake him up from one of his nightmares. But every once in a while he's sometimes too involved in the dream to even wake up. And so he keeps screaming, keeps crying, keeps begging her to stop all in front of me...

You guys probably have no idea how much that hurts. It hurts like you've been stabbed, shot, and beaten to death several times.

It makes me feel like I can't even save my own lover from his past. Which sucks, if you ask me.

Anyways. Onto my reason for making this:

I have a offer for all of you. A proposition, perhaps a simple question, if you will.

Ben and I have decided, with your permission as the fans, to put up our love story. Onto FanFiction for all of you to see, for all of you to see how out friendship blossomed and formed into what it is today.

It will be Warriors. Shocker! Haha xP.

It'll follow two toms, Grasspaw and Lichenpaw.

Here's the summary: _Two toms, from the same Clan, just trying to fit in. To find love in a world where having a mate of the opposite sex is just natural. But Lichenpaw can't shake the feelings he has for Grasspaw, and Grasspaw can't shake them off about Lichenpaw. Will these two cats come together, or will they just act like they have never noticed each other?_

I will be portraying Lichenpaw. Ben will portray Grasspaw.

We're quite excited for this, really.

Ben's freaking out because he feels we will be flamed by you guys.

And I'm actually quite scared to post it in fear that you guys won't like it. That you'll think it's too sexist or something...

Well, I suppose this is goodbye until the next Author Note from Ben xP.

With life and love,

**~Nikki :)**


	14. Nikki Author Note! :)

To our loving, loyal readers:

Hey, everyone. It's Nikki again.

Let me start off with a question: Did you all like the prologue of our new story, I Don't Want to Love You? Did it burn your eyes? I wrote that, so it probably REALLY sucks.

I suck at sappy things; how'd you guys even read Chapter Five or so of Stripes with PumaxStripe? I wrote that too! Well, the ending where Puma reveals that she loves Stripe... My gosh that was terrible on my part...

Anyway:

Ben's been really freaking out these last few days, and I don't know why. He's all jittery, snappish, and often jumps at the smallest sound. Like, we'll be sitting on the couch and one of our dogs and one of our cats, Pilot and Pumastrike (WARRIORS FOR THE WIN! XD) will just bark or mew... And he'll jump and shout "What the (insert swear word here) WAS THAT?"

So today, readers... *drum roll and suspenseful silence*

GRAYSON, MY NEPHEW, WAS BORN YESTERDAY! :D I just found out about an hour ago and I'm all happy!

Also... *silence*

I'm - with Ben's permission, of course - going to tell you the rest of his story.

Get comfortable and grab some tissues, guys. Because when you hear this, and while I'm typing this, I'll be crying. Just so you've got a warning, be prepared to cry.

So, here we go...

It was February of 2014 when Ben and I told my parents about the love we had for each other. Brianna was there, with our two nieces Kira and Brailynn.

My parents simply scoffed at the confession we had made. "Foolish of you, Nikolas." She had told me.

"How can our son be such... Such a disgrace to our family name?" My father had yelled, disappointment in his voice.

Brianna, however, had been supportive of our love. She wore a giant smile on her face then, and even now as she's visiting us with her baby boy, two daughters and husband. Ben's too busy cooing over Grayson to make a comment and I'm being pounded by little girl fists, so I guess that's all of this story for now.

To be continued...

With life and love,

~Nikki :)


End file.
